Brain Cancer (Neurological Cancers)

Brain Cancer (Neurological Cancers)

Brain cancer and brain tumor are used interchangeably, but not all brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Malignant brain tumors grow aggressively, overpowering healthy cells and destroying nearby brain tissues. Cancer that begins in the brain (primary brain cancer) is far less common than cancers that begin in other parts of the body. While cancer that starts in the lungs, breast, kidneys or other parts of the body may spread to the brain, primary brain cancer is less likely to spread outside the brain. Although the exact cause of this neurological disease is unknown, your risk increases if you smoke cigarettes, have been exposed to radiation to the head, or have been exposed to certain chemicals. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment for brain and other neurological cancers with expert advice from Sharecare.

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A meningioma is a tumor that arises from the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. A meningioma does not grow from within the brain, but rather on the surface of the brain or spinal cord, pushing the brain away from it.

Treatments for meningiomas vary. If it is small, doctors frequently don't do anything other than follow-up imaging. Surgery or radiation is reasonable when a meningioma is greater than approximately 2 centimeters (cm); if it has shown signs of growth on follow-up imaging; is causing symptoms such as seizures, weakness or vision difficulties or if it is causing an inflammatory reaction in the adjacent brain tissue.

Radiation therapy: A sophisticated and effective way to treat many kinds of cancer, radiation oncology uses highly advanced technology and innovative treatment techniques to destroy cancer cells or to prevent diseased cells from growing.

Surgery: Some neurological cancers are confined and accessible enough to be effectively removed surgically. Surgery is often combined with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy. Sophisticated brain mapping is used to ensure that the senses are not hindered as a result of surgery.

Chemotherapy: Advances in the effectiveness of cancer-fighting drugs have kept chemotherapy at the forefront in the fight against cancer. Often used in combination with other therapies, chemotherapy is frequently used to combat cancers with or without radiation therapy and surgery.

Autologous stem cell treatment (ASCT): Some cancers once considered untreatable are being successfully treated with autologous stem cell treatment. While research has shown that certain cancers are more effectively treated (and the risk of recurrence can be dramatically reduced) by treating them with higher doses of chemotherapy, that can result in bone marrow failure.

With ASCT, bone marrow failure is prevented by removing stem cells from the blood and preserving them before the patient receives chemotherapy. The stem cells are then reinfused back into the patient after chemotherapy. These stem cells then migrate to the bone marrow where they begin to produce healthy new blood cells.

Cancer immunotherapy: The ability of the immune system to identify and destroy tumor cells has led to its use in cancer treatment. By stimulating the body's immune system, cancer cells may be destroyed without damaging healthy tissue. Cellular cancer vaccines use a patient's cells to trigger the immune system to attack cancerous cells. While traditional vaccines are used to prevent an illness from taking hold, cancer vaccines are used to prevent the existing cancer from spreading, thereby reducing the risk of recurrence.

The treatment of meningioma is often determined by the symptoms which brought the patient to medical attention. Meningiomas are usually benign, slow growing tumors which originate on the connective tissue coverings of the brain and are not primary brain tumors (those that originate within the brain tissue. They may present with headaches, seizures or other neurological problems/symptoms depending on their location and size. Often these tumors are not causing any neurological symptoms or problems. Many times meningiomas are found "incidentally". That is the patient receives a brain scan after a head injury, or for some neurological problems which are not the direct result of the meningioma itself. In these situations, if the tumor is of small size and not causing symptoms or problems, these tumors may be simply watched and monitored with serial brain scans. With time sometimes these tumors grow to a size to begin causing neurological problems/symptoms and may need to be removed. If the meningioma is clearly causing acute and chronic neurological problems, it is likely it will need to be surgically removed. If it is causing seizures sometimes those can be treated with antiepileptic medication until the other aspects of the tumor indicate that it needs to be removed. Many times these tumors can be treated conservatively, and may never require removal.

Glioblastomas, the most common type of malignant brain tumor, grow very fast and can quickly spread to other areas of the brain. So, according to Linda Liau, MD, PhD, director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Program, even with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, most malignant brain tumors will return because it is impossible to remove every cancerous cell.

Unfortunately, no widely advocated tests exist to find brain tumors before symptoms develop. Doctors usually diagnose these tumors because patients start complaining of symptoms. If the cancer is found early, it may help the patient's chance of survival, but the particular type of brain cancer may be a more important factor.

The Simpson grading scale is used to grade meningioma resection and are divided into five grades. For instance, a Simpson grade five is a resection that is just a biopsy of the meningioma. However, a grade one Simpson meningioma means that doctors were able to remove the entire tumor, including the dura, with surgery. In other words, for each layer down, the grade gets lower.

When a meningioma is very big, or if the person with meningioma is young, if the tumor is causing a lot of pressure or edema, or it's causing other problems, surgery is required. Doctors do open micro-neurosurgery with a microscope. This is the smallest craniotomy possible. In effect, UCLA doctors try to do a minimally invasive, maximally effective resection of tumors.